New DCSF consultation - make your views known.

[Madminder]

I have received an email from NCMA about a new DCSF consultation:

Exemption of childcare arrangements between friends that are not for monetary payment from registration under the Childcare Act 2006.

Here is the email:

Have your say on a proposal to exempt childcare between friends from Ofsted registration
This is your chance to influence government policy.
The Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is consulting on a proposal to exempt from Ofsted registration childcare between friends that is not for monetary payment .
This would allow parents to make reciprocal childcare arrangements with friends and also to provide care for friends in return for any other goods or services, without the provider of the childcare having to register with Ofsted as a childminder, provided that no money changed hands.
This consultation comes as a result of the high profile media coverage in 2009 about the childcare arrangements between two friends.
NCMA is concerned about the proposal and the potential impact and will be issuing a robust response to this consultation.
It is our view that proportionate regulation of childcare practice is not only an important part of safeguarding children, but for registered childminders it plays a significant role in demonstrating to parents that the setting and practice is of good quality. It is crucial that wider registration and regulation is not undermined and the professionalism of childminding is maintained.
There is a risk this proposal will undermine childminders' efforts to sustain their businesses and disadvantage parents who would not be able to access support for meeting childcare costs.
The consultation is open to anyone and we would encourage NCMA members and parents to respond to ensure the views of the childminding sector are well represented. The deadline for responses is 31st January. The link to the consultation is below.
Don't miss this chance to have your views heard.
If you decide to contribute to the consultation we would be interested in receiving a copy of your submission. Please contact Tim Farrow in the External Relations team at NCMA by emailing tim.farrow@************* or calling 020 8290 2429.


Tim Farrow
Public Affairs and Policy Officer
National Childminding Association (NCMA)

Here is the link: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?action=consultationDetails&consultationId=1687&external=no&menu=1

Once you have completed your details there is only one question to answer.

[Madminder]

I have done mine and my main worry is the safeguarding aspect. We all know to be careful who to let into our house and not to leave mindies with anyone else but will a friend be so particular? Not having had our training, would she pop into the garden to bring the washing in leaving the children with another friend who has popped round? Will she nip down to the corner shop for a minute, leaving them with her newish boyfriend?

No matter how well you know your friend and trust them to look after your children, you do not know all their friends!

The other thing is that we have spent years building up the reputation of childminding and getting accepted into the mainstream childcare profession. I am sure that these friends will refer to themsleves as childminders and thus knock us back 20 years reputation wise.

This is quite apart from the threat it poses to the financial viability of our businesses!

What do you think?

[sarah707]

Good reasoning there!

There's a big push just now to get nannies registered and CRBs in place yet they are talking about this in the next breath.

I intend to have a look at this tonight thank you for the reminder. :D

[angeldelight]

Thanks for this I will have a read later

Angel xxx

[Madminder]

Good reasoning there!

Thanks, a fellow childminder told me the following story and it really makes you think!

"Before I became a Registered Childmindinder I often used my friends daughter to babysit my children.
On one occassion she asked if her boyfriend could come with her and I agreed without thinking.
They cared for my children one evening and the very next day she was dead; murdered by the boyfriend I had allowed in my home!"

The important words in that story are "before I bacame a registered childminder" - with the training we get, none of us would allow this with minded children, and probably would think twice with our own.

[Pauline]

I will pin this at the top as I feel it is important everyone sees it and gives their response.

The impact on childminding businesses could be serious but the impact on a child's welfare could be devastating. If just one child was put at risk by this proposal then it is one too many :panic:

[Carol M]

Will read and respond.
Carol

[breezy]

will look and respond later

[flora]

I have read and responded :thumbsup:

[Mollymop]

Thanks for the info Pauline.

I think that childminders won't be effected as such, as I believe there are many people out there that do not understand the law as it stands at the moment that you have to be registered to care for children so have been doing it for years. I didn't even know the law myself until I started looking into childminding as a career.
I do think that the majority of people will still want registered childcare, after all who would want their friend to look after their child for nothing, no reward, I know I would feel guilty if a friend was caring for my children day after day, week after week with out getting a reward.

Though, will these people who do look after other friends children get payment? No one will ever know if they get paid or not will they?

Worrying really

I will respond later when I get more time x

[christine e]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Madminder - I have responded with my concerns

Christine

[jodi-anna]

I will pin this at the top as I feel it is important everyone sees it and gives their response.

The impact on childminding businesses could be serious but the impact on a child's welfare could be devastating. If just one child was put at risk by this proposal then it is one too many :panic:




HERE, HERE!!!

[bexx]

so you can't help out at school more than once a month without getting CRB'd, but you can look after your friends children without any checks? Who's bright idea is this?
I know there are some friends, who I would trust with my life, but this would open the door to everyone who is considered a 'friend'. And who would police the 'non payment'? How would you really know that someone was diong it for free?
Too many questions remained unanswered for my liking.............................
and now I'm off my soapbox!:mad:

[Madminder]

Thanks for the info Pauline.

I think that childminders won't be effected as such, .....I do think that the majority of people will still want registered childcare, after all who would want their friend to look after their child for nothing, no reward, I know I would feel guilty if a friend was caring for my children day after day, week after week with out getting a reward.

Though, will these people who do look after other friends children get payment? No one will ever know if they get paid or not will they?

Worrying really

I will respond later when I get more time x

Molly, I'm afraid I beg to differ. It was the case of the two policewomen earlier this year that has prompted this proposed change in the law. They were looking after each others children as they were both working different shifts, so were getting free childcare in return for looking after a friends child. As it stands at the moment this is against the law.

If the law is changed then I can see many shift workers, job sharers and part-time workers taking this option, especially if they have 2 or more children as the tax credits are capped so this could work out much better for them. However, as these people are going to be unregistered and unregulated then you could easily have someone looking after more than 6 under 8s or 3 under 5s (including their own) and I think that this is an accident waiting to happen.

It doesn't take much time and effort to get registered as a childminder and if a friend can't be bothered to do that for you then what else wouldn't they bother to do while caring for your kids?

The safety and well-bring of the child should be paramount, no matter who is caring for them. If this goes through we will end up with a number of childcarers who are competely unregulated, and therefore unaccountable. Currently all childcarers not caring for a child in the child's own home are regulated and accountable under the law, as are parents themselves. If something goes wrong, who does the parents complain to? They can obviously stop using the friend for childcare but if the problem is serious enough to make them do that then should that friend still be able to care for other friends children?

When you actually start to think about it this is going to cause more problems than it solves!

Suzy

[Lick'le Oakes]

Have responded, thanks for the link:thumbsup:

[Andrea08]

me too thanks for the link

i think it will effect me more with my over 8's or school pick-ups as a lot of parents are already doing this.

i pointed out that my own daughter had to be CRB cleared and ofsted rang her to talk to her about living at home now she 16 :eek: and about my work.

it could put a lot of childminders out of work and a few nursery's will suffer too. if children's centres weren't enough now we have this...

[francinejayne]

It doesn't take much time and effort to get registered as a childminder and if a friend can't be bothered to do that for you then what else wouldn't they bother to do while caring for your kids?


I couldn't agree more!

[georgie456]

Thanks for the link I have responded. I have also raised the issue of child protection, and what happens if something goes wrong - a friend isn't going to be insured are they? And it's all very well saying you can do it as long as it is not for reward - who is going to check that money isn't changing hands on the quiet? I also talked about how we have worked very hard to be taken seriously by the childcare profession and this would take us straight back to square one in my opinion.

[Heaven Scent]

Mindee just gone home and have done it!!!

[francinejayne]

I have just responded. Am not yet registered (awaiting CRBs) so did wonder if I would be blocked at some point in the process, I wasn't, so was able to put my views accross. So all newbies can also have their say too!

[bossykate]

I agree with Mollymop, I don't think this will make any difference to my business or most other ones and I also think the degree of government intervention is overstepping the mark in this instance. But this is a secondary issue to the larger impact on society.
It is the job of parents to decide who is suitable to look after their children and the role of government to check when parents are unable to do so adequately.
Trust is an essential part of society, psychological studies show that where trust is eroded then individuals in society are less happy. We are being prevented from trusting and creating social bonds (doing favours for friends/neighbours) by government regulation. If you think childminder registration is easy then look at the rest of this forum. As childminders we have to worry about inspections, insurance, risk assessments and policies before we even care for a child. The legislation is heavy handed in my opinion, I fully support the new guidelines.